MAPLE TRAIL This 7.7 mile hike in Forest Park offers all the benefits of hiking in the forest without a long drive. The trail was well-maintained and the modest 600 feet elevation gain made this a good moderate hike. Trail conditions were good, despite the recent rains. The only tricky spot was going down a muddy embankment to cross a stream and then back up a muddy embankment on the other side. Trillium was blooming everywhere, making this the most profuse display I’ve seen. There was also a smattering of yellow violets peeking through the ground cover. Was this a worthwhile hike? Yes. Would I do it again? Most likely.

Forest Park has miles and miles of trails from the wide gravel road Leif Erickson Drive to narrow single-track routes like the Hardesty or the Nature Trail. We ventured out for a short lollipop loop on the Ridge Trail. We parked at the obvious pull-out on NW Bridge Ave. just a bit SE of the west side of the St. Johns Bridge. At first we explored a user-path right out of the pull-out that we thought was the trail - its not. Rather the trail begins up an ivy covered staircase closer to the end of the St. Johns Bridge. You have to walk back along busy NW Bridge Ave. so keep your kids and dogs close. The loop we hiked ascends up to a jct with Leif Erickson Dr. we continued on the Ridge Trail to the Wildwood Trail and turned left to do a counter-clockwise loop. At the next junction we turned left again to descend back to Leif Erikson which we followed back to the Ridge Trail. The fall colors where beautiful and the ridge is high enough to be above the mist that shrouded the Willamette River below. Sun beams filtered through the trees strikingly beautiful. Along the way we stopped to check out the many, many mushrooms. Lola insisted on stopping to look at each way making the approx. 3 mile loop last much, much longer that I thought it would (we hiked through her usual nap time). Finally her legs got tired and she conceded to the backpack and I was able to make double time back to the car.